113 Years Ago
by iAir Nomad
Summary: A story revolving on Aang's childhood with his family of monks and nuns at the Southern Air Temple. Please R&R!
1. The Reincarnation

**113 Years Ago**

**The Reincarnation**

Fits of giggling could be heard through the Air Temple, the Southern temple. A monk took the newborn baby by his pits and held him up high with pure glee. All monks and nuns in the room smiled with joy. The baby's mother, Quan Lin, was a beautiful young nun with black hair and a soft face. The monk handed the baby to her and she carefully took him and cradled him as she lay in the bed. Without a word, she stroked the small space of hair on his forehead and kissed him.

"Aang…" Was all she said before she felt herself gradually getting weak. She felt her heart slow and then stop, and she gasped for air but failed. Finally, she relaxed and placed her head back into the pillows, smiling faintly at her baby boy before closing her eyes and dropping her hands from his skin. The baby looked straight up at his mother, his grey eyes sparkling and then he buried his face into his now passed mother's chest. The monks and the nuns bowed their heads in sorrow and prayed in their heads for safe travels back home for their companion, before walking to her bedside and covering the rest of her face with the blanket.

"We will call him Aang." One monk announced as he picked up the child and held him in his arms. "As what his mother wanted."

Without warning, Aang grabbed a hold of the monk's prayer beads that wrapped around his wrist, studying it closely. He then began yanking on them, as if in need and want.

"You want these?" The monk grinned widely and took off the prayer beads before giving them to him. Aang immediately took them and held the beads up to his mouth, chewing on them. Everyone in the room gathered around to see. Each of them had bright smiles on their faces with excitement.

That was Aang's first test. The prayer beads belonged to one of Aang's past lives, Avatar Yang-Chen, who was an airbender as well.

"We need to show him now." One monk declared. The others nodded and left the room, but one stayed behind in prayer for the recently passed nun.

In the prayer room sat a monk with prayer beads in his hands, his eyes closed. He tilted his head back and forth slightly as he chanted a well-known chant over and over again, but stopped once he felt the presence of the many monks and nuns standing in the doorway.

"Gyatso, meet your new student and companion, pupil Aang."

Gyatso finally opened his eyes, and bowed his head to the statue of Avatar Yang-Chen before him. He then stood up and walked through the crowd of monks and nuns to see the baby in one's arms. Aang's eyes were now closed, but the beads still remained in his grasp, sitting on his lap. Aang had fallen asleep, and rather quickly.

Gyatso felt a huge wave of comfort and companionship as he gazed at his pupil. He took a couple of steps forward.

"May I?" He asked quietly, holding out his arms. The monk nodded and handed Aang over, slowly and gently. Gyatso took the baby and held him in his arms, wrapping his cold body with his warm robes. Aang suddenly opened his eyes, revealing two grey pools. Once Gyatso saw those twinkling eyes staring up at him, he felt a whole new love wash over his body. Family love. Fatherly love. He had considered Aang as his son and friend already, and he loved him.


	2. Toys, toys, toys!

**113 Years Ago**

**The New Avatar**

Four Years Later

"We just need to check. Go get him, now."

Monk Gyatso silently bowed his head to his leader, Lobsang, and dismissed himself from the room.

Going down a few halls, he reached Aang's room and opened the door.

"Aang?" He peaked through to find the room completely dark. He flicked on the light, only to be surprised by a four-year-old Aang jump up and cling to his leg.

"_Roar!_" He snickered playfully. Gyatso laughed. "I'm a Lion Turtle!" He exclaimed happily and crawled on the floor, as if trying to swim. Gyatso only continued to laugh at Aang's heartwarming playfulness. After a minute, though, he stopped and gently took Aang by his little hand, leading him out of his room.

"Where are we going?" He asked innocently, clutching tightly onto Gyatso's hand.

"To identify you." He answered. They soon reached a room Aang had never seen before. Gyatso opened the door and Aang thought he was in heaven.

The room was enormous, and thousands and thousands of toys were stacked up in huge piles _everywhere_. The young boy laughed lightheartedly, diving into one pile after another. He eventually found four toys that he decided were his new favorites, and the most fun to him—and, without him really realizing it—the most familiar.

"Look at these, Gyatso!" Aang said, running back to where the older monk stood. He laid out the four toys in front of his guardian, and Gyatso merely smiled in approval.


	3. An Innocent Feeling

**Hey, all, again! I was looking at this story, realizing just how long it's been since I've actually updated anything. I seriously need to break the habit of procrastinating or almost-abandoning my own stories! D: **

**I see I've only gotten a couple reviews, so it must mean not many people are actually viewing this… but, I suppose, for the ones that are, the story is continuing, and I know I said I made the mistake of getting the lead-monk's name right (Aka "Lobsang" in my story), because his name is actually Pasang after searching it up. But let me switch things up a little bit. :D I've decided that I'll have Lobsang still as the lead-monk, but Pasang will also make an appearance later… you'll see! **

**Anyway, this chapter won't be as short as the other couple chapters, I promise! ^_^;;**

Aang loved girls. Not in a romantic way, but just in general. He loved the nuns at the Western and Eastern Air Temples; he loved every woman there. There was one nun in particular that he gave much love and respect to. This nun was named Pema, who looked at least around thirty-years-old. She was young and beautiful, looking after Aang like his guardian, Gyatso, and very much acting as a motherly figure for him, and it was this specific reason that he respected her most. Although being raised by monks and nuns—and having little knowledge of what parents really were—he at least got a sense of what it must have been like to have parents through her and Gyatso. Sometimes when he felt sad or lonely, she was always there, messing around with him to make him smile and laugh again. He would often times cling to her and snuggle into her warm and comforting robes of gold and red and gently press his lips to her cheek—something he rarely did with the monks, but with the exception of Gyatso.

Aang also liked girls his age, although, sometimes, he thought, they were a little weird. They were always getting close or snuggling with him. His little four-year-old heart would pound and blood would rush to his cheeks in an instant. He could never explain why he thought they were weird, though, being used to getting treated this way almost all the time by the adults. But with these girls, he was fortunately able to escape easily from their unusual actions by the nuns or monks catching them together and shaking their heads at them. Supposedly, monks and nuns weren't allowed to fall in love with each other, with few exceptions, Gyatso had told Aang. And when little Aang questioned this, the older monk simply replied, "you will understand better when you're older", and Aang did not question it further.

As time passed and Aang grew older, his feelings for certain people began to grow. He was taught of romantic love by the nuns, and for a short while, his love for Pema soon turned into romantic love, but he kept this a secret to himself. But others began to pick up on it. Pema, too, noticed his sudden change of feelings for her, but when she was informed of this by other adult monks and nuns, she merely laughed it off said: "All little boys and girls wish for romance in their little lives. But as for Aang's feelings toward me, it is a phase and it will soon pass".

But clever little seven-year-old Aang was good at eavesdropping. He heard Pema's comment and acted coldly to her for the next few hours—but then forgot about it and laughed and smiled with her again.

And this is the beauty of children, Pema thought to herself one day. They get upset for a short period of time, and then brush it off their shoulders as if nothing had ever happened, and move on and have fun.

Most of the adults missed those days. Days when situations that they thought were serious in their adult-minds were not so serious for a child's mind.

"My beautiful little child, Aang," Pema cooed to him one early morning, before anyone was even awake yet. They sat out in the warm air on the balcony of the Eastern Air Temple. The sky was starting to lighten in color, a beautiful morning blue, but stars were still visible. Pema brushed a hand on Aang's baby-soft cheeks. He had been crying when he remembered that Pema's feelings towards him was not the same feelings he had towards her.

"Hush, my child," she murmured softly, as a mother would to her own youth. She kissed his tears away. "Remember that I will always be a mother to you, Aang. But some day, when you grow older, to be a young man of great power and beauty, you may find someone destined to be truly yours."

A normal seven-year-old may not at first understand what she was saying. But Aang picked up quickly on a lot of things, such as bending skills, and what Pema was telling him was one of those easy-to-pick-up things. But Aang furrowed his eyebrows:

"But, Pema-la, Gyatso told me that monks and nuns weren't allowed to fall in love. I never would have a chance!" He began to raise his voice.

"Shh," She hushed him, still stroking his cheek. "Forget that. Remember that there can also be exceptions. However, maybe when you grow older, it won't be a nun that you fall in love with. It may not even be one of your kind. It could be a Fire Nation citizen, an Earth Kingdom citizen, or maybe a Water Tribe citizen. That would be an exception."

Aang smiled at this. For years, he was always interested in the Water Tribe the most, though. He could never explain why, he just did. "Tell me a story about the Water Tribe, Pema-la."

"Well," Pema paused and thought, looking elsewhere. After a moment of thinking, she looked back down into the young boy's grey orbs, and smiled. "Alright. There was a waterbender. A young waterbender—"

"Was he my age?" Aang interrupted.

"Hush," Pema giggled, and Aang smiled. "_He_ was a _she,_ and yes, I suppose she could be around your age. But in any case—the young waterbender—"

"Does she have a name?"

Pema sighed. "Aang, how can I tell you this story if you keep interrupting me?" She seemed serious at first, but then she giggled quietly again, and Aang's smile, if possible, only grew wider.

"Sorry, Pema-la."

"Alright. The young waterbender wore a beautiful blue, white and purple robe."

"Like yours?" Aang asked, pointing to her red and gold robes.

Pema's expression looked as though she were in deep thought. "Not exactly," she replied. "Her clothes were more suited for colder weather. She was a water tribe girl, after all. Water Tribe citizens' environment consisted only of ice and snow. Freezing temperatures." She shook her head, imagining the cold and almost feeling it, herself, as she created the story. "So—this girl one day met a beautiful boy named Aang, an Airbender." She grinned, gently touching noses with the child in her arms, and he giggled. "And she became awestruck by him. She had seen many Airbenders before, but this one caught her eye the most. He wore robes of gold and orange and red, a wooden, carved beaded necklace around his neck. They became friends rather quickly, penguin sledding, having adventures, having fun. And soon, they had become something more as time passed."

"Something more?" Aang was confused.

Pema merely smiled. "You will understand far more when you are older, my child."

Little did both of them know that almost all of that story would become true in the near future.

**Please R&R! 3**


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